She spent much of this year touring with her new album Personal Record, but she currently has nothing scheduled after December 20th until the following fall. "You have to be comfortable with not knowing when you're going to get paid next," says Friedberger.

Although her latest record is only the second under her name, she's been making a living through music for more than a decade as one half of the Fiery Furnaces with her brother Matthew Friedberger. She's managed this precarious financial situation in part by taking after her father. "He's a cheap guy, you know? I think some of my friends might describe me that way," she says.

She splurges on clothes -- "I probably get that from my mother" -- but in vintage stores, not Barneys. But she says she can't worry too much about money, or plan too much for the future, when income is unpredictable.

"I've had great years, and I've had bad years. I've had OK years, and I've had mostly years that I just get by," she says. "Which is good enough, considering I get to do something pretty great."